Third overall pick. Two-time Olympic gold medalist. Three-time NBA all-star. All-american. All-NBA.
With those accolades, you’d expect that there was a good chance we’d see Deron Williams behind a desk at ESPN talking about the game he devoted his life too. According to Williams, if you do ever see him behind the desk in Bristol, he won’t be talking about the hardwood – he’ll be talking about the cage.
I’ve been a fan of MMA for a long time. I don’t know when exactly it was I started watching avidly, but I’ve just always been a fan of MMA, Williams explained to The Top Turtle MMA Podcast. My first sport was actually wrestling – I wrestled from when I was 5 [years old] to 8th grade, until I had to stop in high school because it’s the same season as basketball and I had to make a choice at that point, and at that point in my life, I felt like basketball was the better option.
And even though he left the wrestling mats competitively when he was just 14, that doesn’t mean combat training was done for Williams. After meeting Sayif Saud through a joint acquaintance, Williams got back into training, this time largely in jiu-jitsu. This lead to him investing and becoming co-owner of the facility that Saud was working on opening, Fortis MMA, where Williams now trains.
I’m part owner of Fortis MMA in Dallas. I definitely train a lot there, Williams said. I train with all the guys. We got a lot of 205ers that are monsters, so I get to train with them. You know Kennedy Nzechukwu, Alonzo Menifield, Ryan Spann and even some of the lighter guys – I train with all of them.
According to UFC 240’s Geoff Neal, Williams isn’t just some wealthy co-owner who pops in and plays on the mits.
Deron is surprisingly good. He doesn’t train MMA full time, but when he comes in, he’s always a tough person to deal with, Neal explained. He’s explosive and strong, and I guess that’s because he’s a lifelong athlete.
Although he lived part of the year in Utah, where he was drafted and played for the Jazz for the better part of six seasons, he still finds time to train out there.
I live in Park City, Utah, in the summertime. So when I’m out here, I’m friends with [UFC veterans] Ramsey Nijem. Steven Siler, Josh Burkman, Sean O’Connell – so I try to train with some of those guys when I’m out here in Utah, Williams explains.
Even though he leaves the coaching to head coach Sayif Saud, when he’s around Williams likes to be involved with the team. So he finds extra ways to get everybody together around the big events.
I’m the guy that, when we have fights, when there’s fights on that everybody wants to watch and some of our guys are fighting, I’ll have fight parties at my house, said Williams. So I’ve gotten to know all our athletes, all our fighters.
He, of course, will be watching carefully as Neal steps into the cage in Edmonton Saturday.
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Author Daniel Vreeland is a co-founder of the Top Turtle Podcast, and a brown belt in Jiu-Jitsu at New England Submission Fighting in Amherst, Massachusetts.
